


We Live This Close To Death

by QuidProCrow



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alpha Timeline, Gen, Pesterlog, Post-Scratch, Sadstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-18
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 12:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/515063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuidProCrow/pseuds/QuidProCrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TT: We may not have been meant to be here.<br/>TT: But we're here now.<br/>TT: And we have to make the most of it, Dave.<br/>TT: We have to protect this world. </p><p>Post-Scratch.<br/>A universe where the both the trolls and the kids were affected by the scratch. </p><p>The trolls remember the kids.<br/>Dave and Rose remember the trolls.<br/>Everyone knows that there is something missing. </p><p>They talk, and they try, very hard, not to let it get to them.<br/>It doesn't work very well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Live This Close To Death

**Author's Note:**

> I was trying to work on an entirely different Homestuck fanfic.  
> And for some reason, I just kept writing Sadstuck.  
> It just KEPT HAPPENING.  
> Mostly, this was an exercise in writing the trolls (and Rose and Dave), because I've never written them before and I wanted to work on them. And then it really just. became Sadstuck. And I just rolled with it! 
> 
> So here we go!  
> (This is what I have right now, at any rate- I might add more to it, and I might not. Who knows!)

**ONE: TEREZI PYROPE AND KANAYA MARYAM**

GC: 1 F33L L1K3 TH3R3S SOM3ON3 1 SHOULD KNOW  
GC: BUT 1 DONT R34LLY R3M3MB3R  
GC: L1K3 1 JUST WOK3 UP ON3 D4Y 4ND  
GC: TH3R3 W4S SOM3TH1NG M1SS1NG  
GC: 4ND 1 R34L1Z3D IT  
GC: BUT 1 DONT KNOW WH4T TO DO  
GC: K4RK4T DO3SNT B3L13V3 M3  
GC: BUT 1 C4N SM3LL 1T  
GC: H3 TH1NKS TH3R3'S SOM3TH1NG WRONG TOO  
GA: I Know  
GA: I Feel The Same Way  
GA: As If We Have Been Missing Something Drastically Important  
GA: As If There Was Something We Should Have Been Doing  
GA: But We Cant Quite Place What It Is  
GA: Vriska Doesn't Think So Either  
GA: But There Is Something In Her Eyes  
GA: And I Think She Is Trying To Wait For Something  
GA: Something That Wont Come  
GC: WH4T?  
GA: A Boy  
GA: Who Plays The Wind  
GC: OH M4N K4N4Y4  
GC: 4R3 YOU J34LOUSSSSSSS?????  
GA: Very Funny Ms Pyrope  
GA: Very Funny  
GA: But What About You  
GC: HMMMMM  
GC: 4 BOY  
GC: 4 CH3RRY-SM3LLING COOLK1D W1TH BL4CK SH4DOWS OV3R H1S 3Y3S  
GC: 4NYON3 FOR YOU?  
GA: Someone  
GA: She Has Bright Eyes  
GA: And Dark Shadows  
GA: And I Get Extraordinarily Sad Every Time I Think Of Her  
GA: As If I Cant Do Anything To Change A Thing  
GC: M4YB3 WELL FORG3T TH1S ON3 D4Y  
GC: 1 ME4N  
GC: M4YB3 1TS JUST 4 R34LLY V1V1D DR34M  
GC: YOU KNOW TH3 K1ND TH4T T4ST3 R34LLY GOOD  
GA: Youve Lost Me There Terezi  
GA: I Believe That Is A Phenomenon Only The Truly Enlightened Experience  
GA: As In  
GA: You Yourself  
GC: K4N4Y4  
GC: WHO H4S B33N G1V1NG YOU SN4RK L3SSONS B3C4US3 YOU 4R3 DO1NG R34LLY W3LL  
GA: You Think So  
GC: Y3S  
GA: Why Thank You  
GA: Karkat Told Me That It Is Probably A Quality Suited To Me  
GA: So I Figured I Would Give It A Try  
GA: Although I Am Not Quite Sure If I Do It All That Well Yet But  
GA: Your Assurance Is Greatly Appreciated  
GC: YOUR3 W3LCOM3 >:]  
GA: What Is That  
GC: 1TS MY 3MOT1CON DUD3  
GC: HE3S CUT3 1SNT H33333  
GA: Ah  
GA: Very Much So  
GA: In The Sense That  
GA: Perhaps He Is  
GA: Um  
GC; OK4Y K4N4Y4 1 G3T 1T  
GC: YOU DONT H4V3 TO TRY TH4T H4RD :]  
GA: Thank You  
GA: It Is Much Easier To Talk To You Than Vriska  
GA: Which Is A Shame To Say  
GC: Y34H  
GC: 1 TH1NK 1TS 34S13R TO TALK TO 4NYON3 TH4N VR1SK4  
GA: I Can See Why You No Longer Consider Yourself Good Friends With Her  
GA: Oh  
GA: Wait  
GA: That Was An Unintended Pun That Possibly Made Fun Of You And Your Lack Of Sight  
GA: For That I Apologize  
GC: 1TS F1N3 :]  
GA: But What Vriska Did To You Was Uncalled For  
GC: W3LL  
GC; 1 GU3SS SH3 S33S WH4T 1 D1D TO H3R 4S UNC4LL3D FOR TOO  
GA: Yes But  
GA: Taking Away Eyesight For Taking Away An Arm Seems  
GA: A Very Unfair Tradeoff  
GC: Y34H W3LL  
GC: WH4T 4R3 SCOURG3 S1ST3RS FOR 1 GUESS  
GC: RIGHT :]  
GA: She Should Never Have Done That To Tavros To Begin With  
GC: Y34H BUT  
GC: 3V3N 1F SH3 D1D 4 LOT OF R43LLY B4D TH1NGS 1  
GC: F33L K1ND4 SORT4 B4D 1F 1 BL4M3 HER  
GC: FOR 3V3RYTH1NG 1 M34N  
GC: DONT YOU TH1NK TH3R3S SOM3TH1NG 3LS3  
GC: SOM3TH1NG TH4T D3S3RV3S 1T MOR3  
GA: You Mean  
GA: A Short Man  
GA: In A White Suit  
GA: Who Holds Many Truths In Blank Eyes  
GC: YOUV3 S33N H1M TOO  
GA: I Have  
GA: You Know  
GA: I Still Think Were Missing Something  
GA: I Still Think  
GA: Theres Something Weve Forgotten To Do  
GA: Some People We Have Forgotten  
GA: And In Turn  
GA: Something Were Ultimately Missing  
GA: And Something Were Going To Lose  
GC: K4N4Y4  
GC: 1 TH1NK YOUR3 R1GHT. 

 

 

 

 

**TWO: DAVE STRIDER AND TEREZI PYROPE**

TG: wait  
TG: hold on  
TG: don't go  
TG: just let me fucking say this okay  
TG: have we ever  
TG: you know  
TG: met before or talked before or some shit like that  
TG: you know like maybe you didnt realize it before but now that youve got the brain juices going or whatever the fuck you have  
TG: what do you think  
GC: 1 DONT R34LLY TH1NK SO  
GC: WHY?  
TG: i just really feel like  
TG: we have  
TG: and  
TG: i dont know what to do  
GC: …  
GC: YOUR N4M3 1S D4V3 1SNT 1T?  
TG: hell to the fucking yes  
GC: K4RK4T TOLD M3 1T W4S JUST 4 DR34M  
GC: TH4T 1 SHOULDNT TRY TO DO 4NYTH1NG OR M3NT1ON 1T TO 4NYON3  
GC: BUT 1 TH1NK 1 C4N M4K3 4N 3XC3PT1ON FOR YOU  
GC: 1 R3M3MB3R YOU  
TG: sweet fancy moses  
TG: you do not know how happy i am to fucking hear that  
TG: or see that  
TG: words you know  
GC: 1 DONT  
GC: 1M BL1ND, DUMB4SS  
TG: oh right  
TG: yeah that was a thing that did indeed happen didnt it  
TG: hows that going for you  
GC: OH YOU KNOW  
GC: SM3LL1NG TH1NGS N3V3R G3TS OLD :]  
GC: 4LTHOUGH 1 GU3SS 1T DO3S TO SOM3 OF MY FR13NDS  
GC: 1 JUST W4V3 MY C4N3 1N TH3 V1C1N1TY OF THE1R F4C3S 4ND TH3Y T3ND TO SHUT UP  
GC: D4V3  
TG: yeah  
GC: WH4T DO YOU TH1NK 1T M34NS?  
TG: ….i dont know man  
TG: i dont know  
TG: i feel like were just really fucking forgetting something  
TG: but i feel like anything we could do to try and really remember it  
TG: wouldnt work at all  
GC: 1 KNOW  
GC: K4N4Y4 S4YS SH3 F33LS L1K3 W3V3 FORGOTT3N SOM3TH1NG AND W3 C4NT DO 4NYTH1NG 4BOUT 1T  
GC: 4ND 3V3N 1F W3 TR1ED TO 1T WOULDNT WORK  
GC: SH3 4ND 4R4D14 S41D 1T W4SNT OUR T1M3L1N3  
GC: 4ND TH3R3S NOTH1NG W3 C4N DO  
TG: fuck  
TG: that has to be the saddest shit ive ever heard  
TG: then what happens now  
TG: what the fuck do we do huh  
TG: just go through life with fucking holes in our chests or something  
GC: W3LL  
GC: D4V3  
GC: YOU H4V3 M3 :]  
TG: this is a regrettably true fact  
TG: but one i can be down with 

 

 

**THREE: VRISKA SERKET AND KANAYA MARYAM**

AG: Hey!!!!!!!!  
AG: You, flighty 8road! Yeah, you!  
GA: Oh  
GA: Hello  
GA: You Did Want To Talk Didnt You  
AG: Well YEAH  
AG: Why else would I message you?  
GA: Polite Conversation  
GA: Elegant Gossip  
GA: You Know Those Things Friends Do  
AG: Oh, Kanaya. ::::)  
AG: You are so cute!  
AG: KIDDING.  
AG: 8ut seriously, we have to have a talk a8out this.  
GA: About What  
AG: You KNOW  
AG: What I told you a8out the other day!  
AG: That kid I keep dreaming about!  
GA: The Boy Who Plays The Wind  
AG: Yeah, yeah, him!  
AG: So, what about it, fangsface?  
AG: Think I'll ever see him?  
GA: …..  
AG: What?  
AG: Come on, you're supposed to have all the answers!  
AG: Well I mean next to Terezi  
AG: 8ut there's NO WAY I'm asking her she gets all up in my case every time we talk  
AG: Even though all I do is try and 8e civil with her!  
GA: Vriska  
GA: I Think Civil May Mean A Very Different Thing To You Than It Does To Others  
AG: Oh, PSHHHH  
AG: Anyway! Answer my question!  
GA: Vriska I  
GA: I Dont Think So  
AG: You don't? Why?  
AG: You're not just saying that, are you? You're not JEALOUS or anything, right, Kanaya?  
AG: ::::)  
GA: Vriska  
GA: I Think You Know Exactly What I'm Saying  
AG: ….  
GA: Aradia Put It Very Well  
GA: She Said That They Were Alive  
GA: But That We'd Never See Them  
GA: That They Weren't Part Of This Timeline  
AG: Well  
AG: Then  
AG: How are we going to GET to the right timeline to help them out????????  
AG: So I can see him!!!!!!!!  
GA: In That Timeline  
GA: We Already Have  
AG: Oh!!!!!!!!  
AG: So somewhere out there in the MIGHTY PARADOX SPACE there's like this other timeline  
AG: And it has an awesome ME  
AG: And I got to help him out????????  
AG: And we had lots of adventures and had a really good time messing with people and watching movies and doing stuff????????  
AG: That's what you're saying, right????????  
GA: ….  
GA: Yes  
GA: Thats What Im Saying  
GA: I Have To Go Now  
AG: What, fashion calls, right?  
AG: Of course of course! I'll leave you to your flighty 8road shit!  
AG: Thanks, Kanaya ::::)  
GA: Um  
GA: Youre Welcome 

 

**FOUR: KARKAT VANTAS AND KANAYA MARYAM**

CG: WELL I DON'T SEE WHY YOU THOUGHT SHE'D UNDERSTAND.  
CG: I MEAN HER THINK PAN IS HARDER THAN ROCK KANAYA DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK ANY SENSE FINDS A WAY TO PENETRATE THAT AND GET INTO SOME PLACE IN THERE TO TAKE ROOT AND SPROUT SO SHE CAN FINALLY REALIZE WHAT ON ALTERNIA IS GOING ON.  
CG: I MEAN I'M KIND OF SURPRISED YOU TRIED TO TALK TO HER ABOUT IT ANYWAY.  
CG: I TOLD YOU IT WOULDN'T WORK OUT  
GA: You Miss Her Dont You  
GA: The One You Dream About  
CG: WHAT  
CG: KANAYA  
CG: THAT IS TOTALLY IRRELEVANT AND NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.  
CG: THAT IS THE FARTHEST THING FROM THE SUBJECT I MEAN YOU COULD HAVE MENTIONED GRUB SAUCE AND WE PROBABLY STILL WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE SAME PAGE HERE FOR ALL INTENSE AND PURPOSES.  
CG: I MEAN AT LEAST GIVE ME SOMETHING THAT MAKES AN INKLING OF SENSE HERE.  
GA: I Think You Understand  
GA: I Really Think You Do  
CG: …...  
CG: I'M GOING NOW, KANAYA. 

 

**FIVE: KARKAT VANTAS AND KANAYA MARYAM- 2**

CG: …..I DO.  
GA: You Do What  
CG: YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT, KANAYA.  
GA: Oh  
GA: Our Conversation From Earlier  
CG: I DO MISS HER  
CG: AND IT'S  
CG: REALLY FUCKING UPSETTING THAT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.  
CG: OR THAT I CAN NEVER SEE HER RIGHT.  
CG: I JUST GET  
CG: FLASHES, YOU KNOW  
CG: OF HER HAIR AND HER EYES AND  
CG: GLASSES, KANAYA  
CG: SHE HAD GLASSES.  
CG: THOSE DORKY CIRCLE FRAMES THAT DRIVE ME INSANE.  
CG: SHE HAD THOSE GLASSES.  
CG: BUT THAT'S IT.  
CG: AND EVERY TIME I WAKE UP ALL I KNOW IS THAT SHE'S SOMEONE WHO I SHOULD KNOW AND I DON'T.  
CG: AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CONTACT HER.  
CG: I MEAN LOOK AT TEREZI SHE MANAGED TO GET INTO CONTACT WITH HER KID BUT  
CG: HE'S NOT THE SAME, HE'S NOT THE ONE FROM THAT TIMELINE  
CG: HE'S JUST AS FUCKED UP AS WE ARE IN THIS MESS  
CG: SO THEN WHO'S TO SAY I CAN'T FIND HER  
CG: WHO'S TO SAY I CAN'T FIND JADE  
CG: BUT SHE WOULDN'T BE THE SAME AND MAYBE SHE DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER US THE WAY WE REMEMBER THEM  
CG: THEN WHAT WOULD I DO, HUH?  
CG: AND VRISKA.  
CG: DAMMIT, KANAYA.  
CG: IF THAT ISN'T THE SADDEST THING IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS.  
CG: I MEAN IN THAT TIMELINE SHE MESSED UP  
CG: SHE REALLY MESSED UP  
CG: I MEAN SHE MESSED UP HERE TOO BUT IN THAT ONE IT ALL JUST WENT CRAZY  
CG: AND NO ONE HAS THE HEART TO TELL HER.  
CG: I DON'T KNOW, KANAYA.  
CG: I REALLY DON'T KNOW.  
GA: Karkat  
GA: Its Okay  
GA: Its Okay  
CG: YOUR MONOTONE CONCERN IS TRULY TOUCHING, KANAYA.  
CG: AND I DON'T MEAN THAT IN ANY SARCASTIC WAY I WAS BEING REALLY SERIOUS THERE.  
CG: I MEAN IT.  
GA: I Know 

 

**SIX: ROSE LALONDE AND KANAYA MARYAM**

TT: I do know that there is something wrong.  
TT: That if something in that timeline hadn't happened, we would not exist this way.  
TT: I know that we're not supposed to be here.  
TT: And I know that what we're meant to do, we may not be around for.  
TT: I remember you, Kanaya.  
TT: I was a rather foolish girl, wasn't I?  
GA: Yes  
GA: I Would Say That You Were Quite Foolish  
GA: But You Lived  
GA: What About Now  
TT: I don't know.  
TT: I've seen what will happen, and I don't like it.  
TT: But I don't know how to change it.  
TT: I wish this hadn't happened.  
TT: I wish our session hadn't been doomed.  
TT: I regret many, many things from a lifetime I can only remember flashes of.  
GA: We Wish Your Session Hadnt Been Doomed Too  
TT: The game doesn't even exist now.  
TT: Not here.  
TT: It won't for quite some time.  
TT: And that session won't work out either.  
TT: Is this how it feels, Kanaya?  
GA: How What Feels  
TT: Life. 

 

**SEVEN: KARKAT VANTAS AND ROSE LALONDE**

CG: KANAYA TOLD ME TO TALK TO YOU.  
CG: SHE SAID YOU KNEW IMPORTANT THINGS AND YOU COULD TELL ME SOMETHING.  
CG: I MEAN DON'T THINK I'M DOING THIS BECAUSE I WANT TO, I'M JUST STUPIDLY CURIOUS.  
TT: You wouldn't be asking me if you didn't want to know.  
TT: Karkat Vantas.  
TT: You want to know what happened to Jade, don't you.  
CG: WHAT  
CG: WHAT FRESH SICK HELL IS THIS.  
TT: Kanaya did say you were easily excited.  
CG: WELL  
CG: YEAH I DO WANT TO KNOW.  
CG: BUT WHAT IF IT'S SOMETHING I WIND UP WISHING I DIDN'T KNOW?  
CG: AND THEN WHAT IF YOU WITH YOUR STUPID SEER-MINDY-SPACEY POWERS KNOWS SOMETHING AND IT'S SOMETHING BAD AND  
CG: THAT MAKES THIS WHOLE SITUATION WORSE THAN IT WAS TO START WITH?  
TT: You can only know that if I tell you.  
TT: Taking pity on people is not a practice of mine.  
TT: I'm a therapist, Karkat. I tell people what they need to hear, not what they want.  
TT: You want to hear that you can talk to Jade. That she remembers you. You want to understand why you remember.  
TT: To be honest, I don't know the answer to the last question. I don't know why we remember. According to my knowledge of 'The Scratch,' we shouldn't remember anything.  
TT: But I guess there's always room for error.  
TT: And excellent hosts.  
CG: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT  
CG: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JADE HERE  
CG: COME ON, ROSE  
CG: WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?  
TT: Karkat.  
TT: Are you sure you want to know?  
CG: SEE I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN.  
CG: YOU'D SAY SOMETHING CRYPTIC AND I'D KNOW THAT IT'S SOMETHING BAD WITHOUT YOU EVEN SAYING IT AND  
CG: THAT'S JUST NOT COOL, NOT COOL AT ALL.  
CG: SOMETHING HAPPENED, DIDN'T IT?  
CG: OHMAN I KNOW IT DID  
CG: I JUST KNOW IT.  
TT: Karkat.  
TT: Stop the typing for a moment.  
TT: Come on, I can see you're still typing.  
TT: It's not necessarily bad.  
TT: Jade Harley, she.  
TT: Lived a long and happy and fulfilled life many years before Dave and myself.  
TT: She was an adventuress and she knew what she was doing and she had fun doing it.  
TT: But as I said, it was many years before Dave and I got here.  
TT: She came to our Earth in the past.  
TT: I'm not sure if you'd be able to contact her now...  
TT: ….for various reasons that I think you're aware of. 

 

**EIGHT: DAVE STRIDER AND ROSE LALONDE**

TG: so let me get this straight lalonde  
TG: this is what youre telling me  
TG: we wont be around to see them  
TT: Yes, that is indeed what I meant when I said 'We won't be around to see them.'  
TG: okay just clearing things up here  
TG: do you know how shitty that is lalonde  
TT: Yes, I believe I do.  
TG: what do we do then  
TG: how do we  
TG: i mean  
TG: were going to die rose  
TG: before they even get here  
TG: what do we do  
TT: …..  
TT: Plan.  
TT: Hope.  
TT: Think that the world is in good hands.  
TT: I mean, it'll be in the only two hands left.  
TT: And they're our, as you so delightfully called them the other day, 'magical offspring,' so I'm quite sure they will be capable of taking care of themselves.  
TG: what do you think about  
TG: leaving behind only orange soda  
TT: Your skills of attempting to cheer up a conversation are timeless, Mr. Strider.  
TT: But I can tell you were being serious.  
TT: I don't think that's necessarily the best thing to leave behind for a small child.  
TG: rose this kid will be a strider  
TG: you dont understand the strider mentality  
TG: we are bosses  
TG: orange soda is in the bloodstream  
TG: what about you  
TG: what badass thing are you leaving behind  
TT: I am under the impression from highly reliable sources that they will be somewhat like what we remember.  
TT: I'm stocking the cabinets.  
TG: rose what if your kid isnt into the passive-aggressive shit thing  
TT: Well, we won't find out, will we?  
TG: if you are morbid one more time lalonde I fucking swear this ends right here right now  
TT: I know, I know.  
TT: I apologize.  
TG: empty words lalonde  
TG: empty  
TG: words  
TT: Only the best.  
TG: it hurts rose  
TG: when you think about it  
TG: because we shouldn't be here  
TG: we shouldnt exist  
TG: not if the session went right  
TG: why did it go wrong  
TG: why were we doomed from the start  
TG: its like fucking space shit  
TG: that feeling you get when you think about everything  
TG: its fucking bizarre and terrifying rose  
TT: We may not have been meant to be here.  
TT: But we're here now.  
TT: And we have to make the most of it, Dave.  
TT: We have to protect this world.  
TT: Not just for us.  
TT: For everyone else.  
TT: I know, in the end, it might seem very hopeless....  
TT: ...and it really is quite tempting to think that way....  
TT: ….but isn't it better to imagine a world that we helped create?  
TT: A world where everything is right? Nothing goes wrong?  
TT: No null sessions, a repaired void session, no-  
TT: What's the phrase?  
TT: 'Batterwitch'?  
TG: hit the nail right on the head  
TG: or the bitch right on the head  
TG: speaking of that  
TG: what if we changed it to  
TG: 'batterbitch'  
TG: i sense an epiphany coming on here lalonde  
TT: Oh, please, spare me.  
TG: nope 

 

**NINE: DAVE STRIDER AND ROSE LALONDE- 2**

TG: rose  
TG: why do you write  
TT: Because I can't get memories out of my head.  
TT: Why do you make movies, Mr. Strider?  
TG: because  
TG: they remind me of him  
TG: the kind of crappy cheesy movies i think he'd like  
TG: until he has some freaky angsty teenager epiphany or something you never knew with that kid you know  
TG: but  
TG: every time i get behind the camera  
TG: and dont you fucking breathe a word of this lalonde  
TT: My lips are sealed.  
TG: i feel like hes not so far away  
TG: like hes not  
TG: you know  
TT: I know. 

 

**TEN: DAVE STRIDER AND ROSE LALONDE- 3**

TG: so lalonde  
TT: Dave.  
TG: you told karkat about jade didnt you  
TT: Whatever gave you that impression?  
TG: cause the guys been messaging me like its fucking going out of style  
TG: trying to squeeze every last detail about her from me  
TG: like i dont think he believes you  
TT: You believed me.  
TG: yeah well thats because i know youve got those freaky mindy thingy powers  
TT: Your precision with words never ceases to astound me, Dave.  
TG: thank you  
TG: but anyway i mean why wouldnt i believe you  
TT: I'm surprised you even knew what I meant when I told you.  
TT: Video game analogies, I need to remember that one.  
TT: I said 'Your princess is in another tower, Mario.'  
TT: And you seemed to get it.  
TG: of course i did lalonde  
TG: jades  
TG: shes in the past and i cant talk to her no matter how much i might want to  
TG: no matter how much i might want to see her  
TG: and just  
TG: rose  
TG: do you think she remembered us  
TT: We'll never really know, will we?  
TT: Maybe she did.  
TT: Maybe John did, too.  
TG: oh jesus rose don't bring him up too  
TG: there is only so much i can handle before im breaking out the tissues  
TG: two-ply rose  
TG: two-ply  
TT: Yes, because heaven forbid single-ply touch the face of a Strider.  
TG: you finally get it  
TG: pass go rose  
TG: collect that two hundred bucks  
TG: spend it on something good  
TG: get yourself something nice  
TT: Let's move on.

**ELEVEN: DAVE STRIDER AND ROSE LALONDE- 4**

TG: rose  
TG: what if we start to forget  
TT: Given our life expectancy, I don't think that's a thing that will indeed come to pass.  
TG: no i mean like  
TG: now  
TG: do you think itd be possible to start to forget  
TG: like we were supposed to  
TT: .....I suppose that that. Might be a possibility.  
TT: Why?  
TG: just curious  
TT: Has that happened to you?  
TG: no  
TG; and as much as i think i want it to happen  
TG: when i really think about it  
TG: i don't want to forget anything rose  
TT: Neither do I. 

 

**TWELVE: JADE AND JOHN**

"John. Do you ever feel like something's missing?"

"What, you mean like a tooth or something?"

"No, I mean, like- something on the inside."

"Jade, did you get mechanical organs and not tell me? Because we totally made that pact and if you got some then I really wanted some and-"

"Forget it."

"Oh, come on, I'm kidding. Really, Jade. Really!"

"Do you, then? Feel like something's missing? Like....people? Like we....shouldn't be here? Like something went wrong?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember? What we were like before this? Everyone we knew? Flashes of- everything?"

"Yeah. Do you- remember him? Blonde? Shades? Coolkid?"

"I- I don't think so. I think I'd remember someone who sounds as awesome as that." 

"Yeah. Yeah, I- I guess you would. Maybe it's all just a dream, Jade." 

 

**THIRTEEN: JADE AND JOHN- 2**

"I'm going to leave, John."

"What?! Why?"

"Because I want to understand." 

 

**FOURTEEN: DAVE STRIDER AND ROSE LALONDE**

TG: what will we do  
TT: Fight.  
TG: why  
TT: Because you want to understand, too.  
TG: this is indeed a thing that is in fact true. 

 

**FIFTEEN: JOHN**

"What if I left, too? To understand? To try and make things better?"

 

**SIXTEEN: DAVE STRIDER AND ROSE LALONDE**

TG: he was a comedian rose  
TG: one of those corny stand-up ones  
TG: he probably performed his act at karaoke night at bars  
TG: he hogged the mic  
TG: hogged it well  
TT: As much as I enjoy your interpretation of the post-scratch lives of our friends, we have other things to think about, you know.  
TG: i know  
TG: and this is how i handle that  
TT: You are a much better person than I could ever be, Dave.  
TG: nah  
TG: someones gotta be the leader rose  
TG: and it may as well be you  
TG: i mean youre the only one whos got the balls for it  
TT: My metaphorical balls and I thank you.  
TG: youre welcome  
TG: but its true  
TT: Thank you, Dave.


End file.
